


Cracked

by Kazire



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: Angst, Brooding, Canon Compliant, Canon Universe, Dangan Ronpa Spoilers, Fan Killing Game (Dangan Ronpa), New Dangan Ronpa V3 Spoilers, One Shot, Psychological Drama, Regret, Unrequited, Unrequited Friendship, after trial, chapter 4, post trial
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-23
Updated: 2018-03-23
Packaged: 2019-04-07 02:03:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,074
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14070480
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kazire/pseuds/Kazire
Summary: Kokichi always pushed the limits of patience. He was a prankster, a liar, and had little respect for boundaries... But he was never a murderer.So why could he see the blood stained on his hands?--Post-Chapter 4 trial. A dive into Kokichi's mind at the moment it shatters.





	Cracked

_Step._

_Step._

_Step._

The small pitter-patter of lonely footsteps echoed through the courtyard, sounding off to the beat of a lazy stride. Although quiet, soft as a breathless whisper, it pierced the still night air and reverberated through to the core. The atmosphere was fresh-- crisp, even-- yet the metallic stench of blood still lingered in the senses, staining the psyche in ways that could never be truly cleansed. Death had once again snaked its way into the academy, reaching with its icy, shadowed tendrils to rip away the precious life of a classmate. A comrade. A friend.

… Friend.

His lips curled back into a ferocious sneer, Kokichi Ouma walked down the path leading away from the Shrine of Judgement. Away from the recently concluded trial. Away from the tears and sobs and blood and those stupid people and this stupid guilt and…

… His humanity.

He had left it all there. In that cold, cursed room.

Laughter bubbled up the back of his throat as his mind began to slip through his fingers, spilling out of his mouth as verbalized venom. Gonta was a fool. So naive, so innocent, and _**so**_ easy to manipulate-- though that’s precisely why everyone had favored the brute as much as they did. That sweet demeanor, charming and childlike, was ultimately his undoing; he was tricked into killing under the guise of protecting those closest to him. Then just like every blackened before him, he was punished with no remorse by the Mastermind and reduced to nothing but a lifeless husk.

Kokichi knew. He felt the weight and the clasp on his labored breath. Though Gonta had taken the fall, the sin fell on his small, frail shoulders-- pushing him-- crushing him-- grinding his spirit into dust. Layer upon layer, wall upon wall, he built a protective barrier around himself to protect his sanity as best as he possibly could, and now it had cracked. All those lies, all the hostile remarks and bitter laughs he spewed every step of the way were now muddled in his mind. What was true? What were lies? Even he couldn’t differentiate them anymore.

For as long as he could remember, he had a habit of testing his boundaries. It didn’t matter if it was with people, laws, or life itself. Kokichi toed the edge of morality and pushed the limit, always just a single small step from falling into despair… And he liked it. He lived for that thrill. But today, he had pushed much, much too far.

He wished he hadn’t remembered the outside world. The flames that ravaged the planet that he once called home, and the ashes that sucked the breath away from all he cared for-- it was all too much for him to handle. Perhaps if he didn’t recall that horror, he wouldn’t have committed an atrocity to such an undeserving soul. He wouldn’t have knowingly broken the code of D.I.C.E…

But none of that mattered anymore, did it?

Everyone was gone.

Now even the people around Kokichi had rejected him… Or did he reject them first? Not that he blamed anyone, it’s not like he made much of an effort to forge any bonds. He lied and schemed and clouded the truth too many times throughout his stay at this Ultimate Academy to earn anyone’s trust... Though there was some small part of him that wished for someone to understand. He wanted someone to pause for just a moment longer than an instant, to peer closer at his antics and juvenile rants. He hoped for someone to display a shadow of effort to see him for who he truly was-- a lost, lonely, and _terrified_ young boy… And now that would never happen again.

He lifted his trembling hand before his eyes, gazing deeply from his palm, to his knuckles, and then to the tips of his thin, lanky fingers. Although not physically there, he could sense the blood on him with his mind’s eye, dripping down his arm in warm rivulets. It would never wash away-- Kokichi was marked. It may not have been him that committed the crime, but it was his sick mind that concocted that devious plan.

Deafening and poisonous words echoed within his head.

_Pathetic? Look at yourself, Kokichi._

_Kaito always has us by his side, see? But no one wants to be around you._

_You’re alone, Kokichi. And you always will be._

Shuuichi. Perhaps the one person that gave him a chance. The only one who had the patience to sift through his deceit and search out the truth for longer than a few measly seconds. Kokichi liked everyone to some degree, even if they didn’t particularly like him, but that detective was just a little more interesting than the rest. It wasn’t quite a friendship, and there was no mutual bond that he could gather… So why did those words cut him worse than any knife could? He had endured his fair share of wounds, both physical and mental, but the sharp edge of Shuuichi’s voice broke what little self-respect that he had left.

_Pathetic._

_Alone._

With violet eyes wide and unfocused in his craze, Kokichi lowered his hand to grip the fabric on his chest with a weak fist. He pushed into his ribcage, willing the ache in his heart to subside along with the darkness swirling in his conscience… But it would never stop. The Ultimate Supreme Leader, with no one to lead and no right to follow, had met his limit. The walls of his sanity were whittled down to nothing-- and now it snapped.

One last time.

He took in a sharp breath, filling his lungs with the flames of resolution. If the pain is chest would not subside, then he would use that fervor to his advantage. He dropped his hand to his side and stuffed it deep into his jacket’s pocket, fists clenched tight enough to dig his nails into the flesh of his palms.

One last lie.

Unwilled tears pricked the corners of Kokichi’s wide, frenzied eyes, threatening to fall in streams. His sneer slowly pulled back further to contort into something of a deranged mania, as a low rumble of amusement emitted from the depths of his throat. Yes… The killing would end. He would take back from this game that had stolen so much.

He would put everything on the line…

To protect what he had left.

**Author's Note:**

> Woooo, I haven't written anything creative in a really long time, probably about a decade. I was feeling a little inspired after exchanging a bunch of Danganronpa memes, so I threw together a little drabble about Kokichi's mind for the funsies. Hope it was okay!


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